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[tab title="Movie Review"]
Orgies! Cocaine! A bug-eyed hypnotist! And women, women, women! Lucifer's Women is a nutso exploration between evil energy sources as satanic possession makes one woman's skin crawl.
This movie is, of course, all concerned with showcasing the Devil’s work. Hell, one man - merely by suggestion - gets himself slaughtered in the street. That's some powerful shit that Satan is pushing.
With black mass scenes supervised by the founder of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, Lucifer’s Women finally sees the light of day thanks to the restoration efforts of Vinegar Syndrome. For the longest time, many people – even producers – did not know if this film– had ever been released as it was originally intended. Too much drugs?
This Blu-ray release – newly scanned and restored in 2K from 35mm film elements and arriving with a special limited edition embossed slipcover (designed by Kevin Thomas)– puts to bed any of those doubts. Lucifer’s Women, in all its uncensored glory, is finally free to fly its freak flag high. And the two leads at the center of this mad tale are on the hunt for a new psychic energy source in order to keep their illusions (or delusions) up.
And, boy, does this movie ever unfurl something bizarre and gloriously supple thanks to the beautiful burlesque dancers - with Jane Brunel-Cohen as Trilby taking home the prize of best hair placement - that share the stage with a hypnotist who believes himself to be a real life version of Svengali, ripped from the pages of George du Maurier's 1895 novel Trilby. See a connection yet? He might be out of his mind. He might be perfectly sane. It depends on the hour. He is, in fact, one dangerous cat.
Directed by Paul Aratow (China Girl) and starring a very engaged (and damn convincing in pasty white-faced makeup) Larry Hankin (Escape from Alcatraz, Breaking Bad, Billy Madison) as magician John Wainwright and erotic film stars Paul Thomas and Clair Dia, Lucifer’s Women is about one man’s burgeoning interest in the occult and, thanks to the encouragement of his publisher, Sir Stephen (Norman Pierce), goes full tilt into Satanism and shops for beautiful women to conduct a human sacrifice with and keep his Svengali guise healthy and awake.
But the trick is on him as Sir Stephen is merely using the poor sap for his own personal deal with the devil.
Full of keyhole fantasies and women who masturbate to comic books, Lucifer’s Women is a nasty slice of b-grade self-stimulating Sapphic lovers. Get the horns out, ladies! This is a sleazy ride through the backstreets of the city; it is a place where rim jobs are offered and men get off on nude female crucifixions. It’s no wonder that this film – with a VERY limited theatrical release that few remember – was quickly disavowed by those involved with the project.
Adding to the confusion in this film’s release is the fact that, in 1978, the film was severely edited and “cleaned up” by a producer who thought he could market the movie with additional footage and less sex. A new director, Al Adamson, was hired to film new sequences with John Carradine and try to salvage the film. It was then released as Doctor Dracula. That film – newly restored as well – is also included with this release.
Lucifer’s Women is both brave and bizarre and, as it feels so very gritty, downright disturbing in its slow burn as grunting goats climb atop women and ride them until the breaka breaka dawn.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 182 mins
Director: Paul Aratow, Al Adamson
Writer: Paul Aratow
Cast: John Carradine, Don 'Red' Barry, Larry Hankin
Genre: Horror
Tagline: A Story of Sensual Torment.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Life itself is so strong that it defies the bounds of petty logic in mere causality."
Theatrical Distributor: Independent-International Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: March 1978
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 30, 2018
Synopsis: Acclaimed author, John Wainwright, has developed an interest in satanism and black magic. Hoping to manipulate him to suit his own perverse desire, Wainwright's publisher, Sir Stephen convinces him to perform the ultimate black rite: a human sacrifice. Selecting a beautiful burlesque dancer to be their victim, Wainwright begins having doubts about his beliefs, as Sir Stephen becomes more and more preoccupied with the black arts, and murder…
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Limited Edition
Home Video Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome
Available on Blu-ray - January 30, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Vinegar Syndrome present Lucifer’s Women and Doctor Dracula on 1080p with awesome results. The newly minted 2k transfers – both with a crackling 1.85:1 aspect ratio – from the original interpositive look damn sharp. They are full of great colors that pop and deep blacks that provide nice levels of shadows and thick lines. Edges are good, too. While this is a cheaper production from the stickier side of the aisle, the films have simply never looked this good. Skin tones are perfect and so, too, are the details in the costumes. Nice interior details are seen throughout both films. The DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono tracks are sufficient for the release.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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The audio commentary track features producer Sam Sherman (Doctor Dracula) talking about both movies.
Special Features:
Fans of these two freaky films get a video interview with Paul Thomas, an original theatrical trailer for Lucifer’s Women, and a digital essay by Samm Deighan.
- Video Interview with Paul Thomas
- Lucifer’s Women Trailer
- Digital Essay by Samm Deighan
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[tab title="Art"]
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